Each spring, during the 2nd week of May, the streets of Girona fill with colour as the city hosts it’s annual flower festival Girona Temps de Flors. The festival takes place in the historic city centre and medieval Jewish quarter El Call Jueu.
The most impressive floral displays include the Cathedral steps, the Arab baths, Saint Nicolas’ Chapel and Les Sarraïnes. There are over a hundred exhibits, some of which are in patios and other spaces which aren’t normally open to the public.
You can pick up a free map of the floral displays with 2 suggested itineraries. Maps are available at the tourist office and from volunteers along the route.
In addition to the flowers, the festival is also a good opportunity to explore the city and discover locations that you might otherwise miss. Sites such as the Girona History Museum and the Banys Àrabs, which you normally have to pay to visit, are free during the flower festival.
5 Tips For Visiting The Girona Temps de Flors Flower Festival
#1 Get 35% discount on train tickets by downloading a voucher
The best way to get to Girona from Barcelona is by train. You can get 35% discount on the ticket price by downloading and printing a voucher here. Show the voucher when purchasing tickets at the train station and when showing your ticket to inspectors on the train. Journey times and fares vary so check the timetables here.
#2 Avoid the weekends if possible
Girona Temps de Flors (time of flowers) is very popular with people from Barcelona and other nearby towns and the narrow streets get quite crowded. If you visit at the weekend be prepared to queue up to see the most popular displays. The queues are especially long on Sunday mornings but don’t actually take that long (Worst case scenario: Banys Àrabs Sunday morning at 11am – Queue time 15 minutes)
#3 Be patient and enjoy the moment
This follows on from tip number 2. At the weekends, not only are there likely to be queues to see the floral displays. Restaurants get very crowded at lunchtime and service may be slower than normal. Time to relax and enjoy your surroundings.
#4 Stay overnight in Girona
You could visit the flower show as a day trip from Barcelona but I think it’s best to spend a night in Girona. Not only does this allow you to see the city when it’s slightly less crowded, the exhibits on the River Onyar are at their best when lit up at night.
#5 Book your hotel room early
The weekends of the festival, hotels in the city centre book up 2 to 3 months in advance. Either book early or be prepared to stay in a less central location. This year we stayed in Pensió Viladomat where a double room with on suite bathroom cost €50. The hotel is ideally located and the simple rooms with free WIFI were spotlessly clean.
More Information on The Web
Check out photos from previous years on these blogs here and here.
Rambla de la Llibertat 1, 17004 Girona, Girona, Spain
I can’t find trains from Franca station to Gerona for May. Everything I find on RENFE website is from Sants. I would think Franca would be the most trains??
Hi Mmt,
For trains from Estació de França station you need to check for regional trains here. Timetables for May aren’t available yet but they will be similar, if not identical to, the current timetable.
Girona flower 35% train ticket voucher can’t be found with your link.
Hi Mmt,
Thanks for the heads up!
Unfortunately, there’s no information about the 2022 edition of the festival on the official website yet so I don’t know whether there will be discount train tickets available this year.